India this year completes 75 years of playing international Test cricket, a game that is almost a religion in this country of one billion and has simply overshadowed every other sport in passion and popularity.
India first played its international cricket in England on June 25, 1932,
From humble beginnings when cricket was still considered a game of the elite, cricket is today perhaps the only sport that can bring the country nearly to a halt - more so if India is winning!
Today, Indian cricketers jostle with iconic film stars for advertising and TV space and on their shoulders ride billions of rupees in marketing a slew of products ranging from motor vehicles to hair care formulas.
It's a game that has seen the coffers of cricket boards of 10 Test-playing nations swell, the Indian board being the richest of them all. TV rights alone have been sold for billions of rupees and associated marketing of the game has ensured that cricket is firmly entrenched in the minds of the millions that passionately follow the game in India.
"Indian cricket has come of age. Now there is loads of money. "Having completed 75 years, the infrastructure needs more attention. The level of domestic cricket has also gone down."
After admission into Test cricket, India had to wait until February 1952 for their first win, a victory by an innings and eight runs against England in Chennai, then Madras.
Over the years, the game has become a huge commercial success as marketing experts latched on to the tremendous recall value of the players to push their products.
Cricket is one sport that rakes so much passion that it unites religions and the diversity of the country. Passions run high as was recently seen from the criticisms and burning of effigies of selectors by the people of Calcutta for dropping Ganguly from the one day side.
Answered by
Kannan
at
9:01 PM on January 24, 2008
